


The Ninth Planet

by lethalexa



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clexa Love Week, F/F, Fluff, Lesbians in Space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-08-19 12:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8208341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lethalexa/pseuds/lethalexa
Summary: Everyone experiences a certain fascination with space, and Clarke Griffin is no different. Except, she wants to explore it. Humans have moved from planet to planet ever since Earth became uninhabitable, and everyone knows that their eighth planet isn't going to last forever. So, they send out people to explore the galaxy, looking for the next planet. Perfect for Clarke. All she has to do is be accepted into one of 100 places at a space station academy called The Ark, survive her training there, and be one of the 80 people who don't get kicked out. Piece of cake. orgays in space





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys so this is my first fic so i really have no idea what im doing lmao so theres gonna be heaps of typos and random sentences that dont make sense so tell me in the comments and ill fix it:)  
> I originally wasn't going to post this on here, but i need that Motivation and Validation (so kudos and comments are welcome)  
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND ENJOY

Usually when you look up at the stars, you stare in wonder at the possibilities that could be up there. The very first time Clarke Griffin went outside at night, she was 9 years old. She looked up at the stars and said ‘I want to get a closer look’.    

A ‘closer look’ at the stars is what Clarke has been aiming for ever since. The only way you can get up into space is to be admitted to an academy called The Ark. They only take the best of the best, and every year they kick people out if they aren’t doing well enough. At the end of each year, there are only 50 odd people left. When people hear ‘I want to go to The Ark’ they always say ‘well, good luck’ and laugh. It’s unrealistic; it’s a child’s dream to go there. Everyone knows someone who applied and didn’t make it, or got in but been booted out. However at some point in everyone’s lives, everyone has wanted to get in. Apparently young Earthlings used to want to be pretty, or be famous when they grew up. Good thing humans are long past that, at least at The Ark you can do something worthwhile. 

This planet is dying, everyone knows that. But NASA say humans have 200 years left here, so there’s a bit of time to find a new one. That will be our ninth planet in about 1,200 years. Humans started out on Earth. Somehow, Earth got nuclear bombed to pieces and the surface had too much radiation to survive. The 12 space stations formed together, creating one massive space station, also called The Ark. The academy is named after this massive station, which kept humans alive for many years. In the year 2780 NASA perfected the ships, they were now able to travel at light speed. Humans began exploring the galaxies for a liveable planet, and in 2958 the terraforming of the Second Planet, Vulcan, began. In 3000 humans were no longer inhabiting The Ark, and had moved to Vulcan. And so it went on, Vulcan couldn’t sustain humans and it’s resources were depleted, so the search for the next planet started again. We found one, moved there, burnt it out. Every planet humankind stayed on couldn’t sustain it, the resources kept running out. Eight planets have been polluted, mined, basically trashed by humans, and that number is going to increase to nine. 

The Ark was formed on Vulcan, when they realised that they would have to move again. The academy is where they train people to use the ships, to widen our knowledge of space and find a new planet. The people who do this are called Intergalactics. Now, humans have settled at Polis, their current planet.

The Ark is selective, you have to apply to get in and they doesn’t take everyone, they keep booting people out of the academy because they don’t have the ships or resources to use on people who have the slightest chance of wasting them. If you get in, you’ve got to fight tooth and nail to stay in.  

Now Clarke’s stomach was writhing, her fingers wouldn’t stop fidgeting, and she was simultaneously in a state of calm and absolute panic. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, surrounded by her posters up on every wall of her room, showing different constellations, stars and planets, and a couple of indie rock bands. 

‘Quit bouncing your leg, Clarke.’

‘Watch me.’

‘Oh I am, and it’s annoying. I try and look everywhere else but your stupid bouncing leg, but it keeps catching my eye. However, being the kind and generous best friend I am, I will endure it for today.’ Octavia Blake was Clarke’s ‘kind and generous’ best friend. At 6 year olds, Clarke and Octavia both were in love with the idea of exploring the stars, and from there they both chased that idea together. All leading up to today, when they find out if the two best friends made it into The Ark or not. Their chance to follow that dream that they share. If they don’t get in this year, Clarke and Octavia will never get in. Clarke’s entire life has literally been trying to reach for the stars, to get that ‘closer look’, and if she doesn’t get in, she’ll be lost. 

So here Clarke is, bouncing her leg, waiting for her HT to light up with a new message from The Ark. The Hologram Tablet was invented by an Ark student who was kicked out. Shows how hard it is to stay in, if she got kicked out but invented the top selling piece of technology in human history. 

Octavia was sitting quietly in the corner, slowly moving her grey HT around in her hands, her bright eyes staring off into the distance. Looking at her now, you would never guess that she was waiting to find out if she had got into the program she has spent her entire life working towards. Looking at Clarke, you would guess something was up, because she was pacing around the room and twisting her hands together.  _ If I don’t get in, what would I do? I have no interest in anything else _ , she thought.  _ I’d get those pity looks from Mum, but secretly she’d be glad, I’d be the good girl she wanted who got a respectable, well earning job to support the future family she wants me to have. Maybe she’ll teach me to be a doctor, like her.  _ Clarke supposed she could try and work down here at one of the NASA’s space bases, communicating with the people doing what she wanted to do.  _ Maybe Octavia would get in _ , she thought miserably, thinking of her best friend  becoming become an Intergalactic, and go off exploring space, while she would be stuck down here, looking up and never being able to get her closer look at the stars. Clarke became obsessed with her closer look over the years, buying telescopes and trying to get access to the live feed from the current Intergalactic. 

Octavia’s HT lit up, and a little exclamation mark floated in the air above the right corner. Her message had arrived. The two girls both stared at her pink HT for a second, and at the little message notification floating just above it, not daring to move. Octavia’s life was in that message. With shaking hands, she opened the message.

‘Dear Octavia Blake, Thank you for your application to The Ark. The Ark has a long tradition blah blah outstanding student body blah blah we are pleased to OFFER YOU ADMISSION TO OUR Clan OF 4019 I GOT IN I GOT IN CLARKE I GOT IN!’ Octavia squealed as she jumped around the room, brunette hair flying, radiating pure happiness. If anything, this made it worse. Octavia was celebrating but Clarke still didn’t know, and her throat was starting to feel like it was closing up. But, she didn’t want to ruin this for her friend, so she jumped up and gave her a massive hug, followed up with a punch on the arm. 

‘If I don’t get in I might have to murder you and then take on your identity, you know that right?’ Clarke joked, starting up some friendly banter trying to distract her brain, which was going a bit haywire.  

‘No you won’t, you’ll have no one to punch then.’ Octavia fired back.

‘Oh, I wouldn’t mind punching Axton, that asshole.’ 

‘Oi, he’s my boyfriend, I won’t have you going around scaring him off. Besides, you’ll get in, I’m sure of it. If you didn’t I probably wouldn’t go either.’ Octavia checked the clock. ‘You should be getting your message any minute now.’ 

Clarke nodded numbly, all of her excitement for Octavia’s acceptance gone. She could picture her going off to The Ark without Clarke, and being left behind. She shook her head, trying to convince herself that that wouldn’t happen, not with Octavia Blake, who protects her friends to her last breath. Suddenly, Clarke’s grey doodle-covered HT beeped, and a message notification popped up. She looked at Octavia, who nodded encouragingly, urging her to open it. A wave of nausea rose up inside of her, and her vision seemed to tunnel as she reached for her HT, her blonde hair falling over her face. Opening the message, she saw the Ark crest, and began numbly reading the words that followed. Her eyes skipped past the first paragraph, simply wanting to know whether she had made it in. She… she… she… ‘I GOT ACCEPTED, O I GOT ACCEPTED!’ Clarke’s eyes filled with tears of joy as she collapsed on the ground, all the anxiousness of the past week finally letting her go. 

‘Told you so! Term starts… 1 st of Feb. We got a few weeks to prepare. Girl, we got in to The Ark. We got into The Ark. WE GOT INTO THE ARK!’ 

**-**

The next few weeks were filled with anticipation for their move to The Ark. Clarke’s mum, Abby, had congratulated her, but she overheard a conversation between her and a friend over HT afterwards. 

‘She’s only 18, she’s too young to go off to a place like that, where there are no other options if you fail. She’ll get kicked out, and then it’ll be almost impossible to get her into a good school after that….I just don’t want her to be heartbroken if she doesn’t make it all the way through. She could easily get into a good uni here and do a course instead, and get a well paying job. I wish she would put her intelligence to a better cause. She comes with me to the hospital often enough, she could easily become a doctor….I know, but I want her at home, not at some space station learning about how to terraform a planet and how to fight with those lasers of theirs…. You’re right…. I suppose I should let her grow up…’  

Clarke had stopped listening then, she knew her mother wanted what was best for her, but she just didn’t understand Clarke’s need for a closer look at the stars.

Octavia, on the other hand, had been researching all about The Ark, what the dorms were like, how the day was structured, anything she could find. She was nervous about the trip to the space station because she often got motion sickness, and Octavia had never been in a shuttle, even though the trip only takes 5 minutes. The space station orbits around Polis, and has been made specifically for The Ark.     

‘We get put into Clans,’ she explained. ‘You sleep in your Clan dorm, eat with them, have classes with them. And, most importantly, they are who you fight with them in the Battles. We better be in the same Clan.’

‘Yeah, if we get to choose it won’t be a problem though.’ Clarke was drawing a sketch of a rocket ship firing into space, while Octavia was scouring the internet at the table.    

‘No go, we have to take some kind of test, and then they put us into Clans depending on what our strengths are,’ Octavia explained, scrolling further down the article she was reading. ‘We’re basically the same person though, so that’ll be fine. Did you know that the Battlesphere is 0 gravity? That’s where we do the battles. Its this massive glass sphere in the centre of The Ark. I can’t wait to see it! I hope our Clan is good, if I get some idiots to work with in the Battles I will probably spontaneously combust.’ Clarke didn’t doubt that, Octavia had an eye for tactics and hated it when people didn’t follow what was decided.  

‘Two weeks till we leave Do you think we’ll last long? I’ve heard stories about people who have been kicked out in their first week,’ Octavia said, casting Clarke a glance. 

‘We aren’t  _ that _ bad O, we’ll be fine. I know it.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Axton is just a random made up character who we probably wont see again so dont worry bout him lmao  
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter updates arent gonna be nearly this frequent soon, ive just already written a couple of chapters so i can put them out much quicker. I hope you enjoy, feel free to give me feedback in the comments!!  
> (comments and kudos are always nice..... pls validate me)

Two weeks seem to pass unnaturally quickly. Clarke was preoccupied with packing and spent hours stressing about whether she had everything she needed. Octavia now knew everything there was to know about The Ark through her countless hours of research.  

It was the morning of their departure, and they were both filled with a mixture of excitement and intense nervousness. They were waiting in a large white room, with all the other new Ark students. The floor was white marble, and there were white couches lining the walls. Clarke estimated there was about 100 new students, and none were sitting down, they were all milling around awkwardly. The majority of people didn’t seem to know anyone, but a couple had introduced themselves to each other and were talking quietly.  

Clarke’s departure with her mother had been somewhat tense, because Abby spoke as if she expected Clarke to be returned home within a few weeks. Clarke had felt slightly guilty that she was glad to leave her behind, but she waved her goodbye with a smile. As she was walking away, she spotted Octavia and her brother saying goodbye. Not wanting to intrude, she waited for her by the doors. Without meaning to, she watched Bellamy hug her tightly, and practically dance with excitement for her. Clarke looked away quickly, feeling a sudden pang of jealousy. She had always loved Bellamy’s support of Octavia, and she would never tell Octavia that she often felt a little jealous of her best friend. Octavia spotted her, and said her last goodbyes, joined Clarke by the doors. Bellamy waved at Clarke, offering her a smile. She and Bellamy often hung out together, so they were close friends, but people often assumed they were something more. Clarke couldn’t count the amount of times she’d have to correct people that they were just friends. Bringing her mind back to the present, Clarke saw Octavia had reached her, and together they made their way inside. 

-

‘Imagine if I got sick on the way up,’ Octavia said, looking nervously up at the shuttle. 

Clarke smiled reassuringly and said ‘It’ll be fine, it’s, like, 5 minutes and it goes directly up. And besides, I’m sure they get people sick all the time. It’s our first time being on a shuttle, we can’t be the only ones who’ve never been on one.’  

Octavia nodded, although Clarke could still sense her nerves. It was unlike her, but looking around the room, she didn’t look like the only one who was anxious. One boy with blonde hair was swaying slightly, and another girl’s green eyes kept darting around, almost in panic. 

A door opened across the room, and a tall man with greying hair entered, walking with a casual stride, boots clicking on the marble floor. 

‘Welcome, you are The Ark’s intake of 4019. My name is Instructor Kane, I will be your year’s director.’ The room had gone deathly quiet, and his voice seemed loud in comparison to their quiet talk just a few seconds ago, even though he talked softly, but just enough for everyone to hear clearly. ‘I will show you all into the shuttle in just a few moments, but when you get on, there is no coming back. The only times you can return to Polis are in holidays or if you are expelled. If you would like to pull out, now is the time.’ No one said a word. ‘I must also remind you, if anyone has an HT with them that you are not allowed to bring them to The Ark. If anyone has one, please give it to me now, and I will return it to your parents to give back to you when you return.’ Again, no one said a word. ‘Good, this makes things easy. Follow me.’

They all walked after him silently, bags in hand. He led them down a long corridor, also white. No one spoke, and the silence was broken only by the sounds of their shoes on the marble floor. They came to the end of the corridor, and beyond it they saw rows of seats. They had reached the shuttle.  

‘Please just leave your bags here, they will be loaded on once you are all seated.’ They all dropped their bags, and filed silently into the shuttle. The inside was carpeted, and there were two rows of grey seats, all in a circle around the middle. Windows lined the walls, and Clarke could see the take off platform they were on. As usual, she and Octavia went for seats at the back, although since the shuttle was circular there wasn’t really a back to sit at, so they settled in the back row instead. The shuttle wasn’t big, only a couple of meters in diameter. They sat down, and watched as the rest of the group found chairs, Instructor Kane coming in last and sitting by the exit. 

‘I broke up with Axton. He picked a fight for no reason again and blamed me. What bullshit.’ Octavia whispered.

Clarke knew she had saved this up to tell her as a distraction for herself from the ride, maybe to try and avoid being sick. 

‘That asshole! I knew it! He doesn’t deserve you anyway, you’re too good for him, but now I plan on beating him up when we get back next holidays,’ Clarke whispered back angrily. ‘At least that’ll give me something to look forward to coming back.’ 

‘True, but I was going to break it off with him anyway since I was coming here. Too hard to keep a relationship going while I’m in a space station orbiting the planet, and he is on said planet,’ Octavia explained, flicking her dark hair out of her eyes. ‘But he gave me a good reason, so that makes me feel a lot less guilty.’ 

All of a sudden, the door to the shuttle closed, and a voice over the intercom started talking.

‘Welcome aboard the Polaris. We hope you have a smooth journey to The Ark. This space station is approximately 300 kilometres above Polis, and fully orbits once every 84 minutes. Please buckle your safety belts, and make sure any loose items are put away. If you have any concerns, please alert your director immediately. If you think you may feel sick during the trip,’ Clarke nudged Octavia jokingly at this, ‘please request a special tablet from your Director before take off.  Please enjoy your flight aboard the Polaris.’ 

Everyone was looking nervously around; it appeared that Clarke had been right in saying that most of them had never been in a shuttle before. Only a pale skinned girl with bright blue eyes and Instructor Kane looked comfortable, everyone else’s eyes were darting around, or staring awkwardly at the floor. No one seemed to want to ask the Instructor for the tablets, and Octavia said clearly

‘Could I have a tablet?’ Everyone’s eyes whipped to her, but she stared firmly into Instructor Kane’s. She had never been one to respect authorities above hers. 

‘Of course. Would anyone else like one?’ He reached behind his seat and brought out a plastic container, filled with little tablets. The boy with blonde hair put up his hand and said softly ‘I’d like one too please.’ 

People seemed to loosen up after hearing some of their fellow students talk, and chatter began to rise up among them. Instructor Kane brought around the tablets to Octavia and the blonde boy, and asked again if anyone wanted one. A couple more people put up their hands, including Clarke.

‘Better be on the safe side, eh?’ she said, as she accepted the little capsule from the Instructor.  

‘You can chew up these tablets, you don’t have to swallow them whole,’ said Instructor Kane, raising his voice above the talk. Everyone with a tablet did so, and most of them were expecting a horrible taste. It was quite the opposite, they instead tasted like sweet strawberries.

‘I could definitely have another one of these,’ Clarke said in surprise, as she tasted the sweet flavour. 

‘Quiet down, a minute till take off.’ Instructor Kane’s words had immediate effect, and everyone in the shuttle was suddenly quiet, waiting in anticipation.  

‘You ready?’ asked Clarke. 

‘That tablet worked wonders. Hell yeah, I’m ready,’ Octavia grinned, her eyes lighting up. Clarke grinned back; this was the Octavia she was used to, all mischievous grins and adventure. The voice over the intercom returned again, this time counting down to take off. The engines started, a dull roaring that gradually got louder and louder. Soon, the whole shuttle was vibrating. 

‘Take off in five, four, three, two, one.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my chapters are so short lmao


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay guys i keep writing 'where' instead of 'were' and its beginning to annoy the fuck outa me so if you see that anywhere, tell me and ill fix it (i dont even know how it keeps happening seriously)  
> (pls validate me with comments and kudos)  
> THANK YOU  
> also my beautiful girlfriend's fic is fucking amazing you should read it  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/7445362/chapters/16915921

The shuttle had entered the docking bay after 5 minutes of hurtling through space, thankfully without witnessing Octavia puking.  _ Those tablets really did work _ , thought Clarke, who hadn’t felt sick at all on the way up. Octavia had been craning to look out the window the whole time. The trip had been smooth, almost relaxing to her. The shuttle settled into the dock, and the voice over the intercom returned. 

‘We have arrived at The Ark. Please take off your safety belt, and look to your director for instructions. We hope you enjoyed your journey on the Polaris!’  

They all looked to Instructor Kane, who said ‘Undo your seat belts, and follow me. Welcome to The Ark.’ He led them out of the shuttle and into the space station. Like the waiting room, the walls and floor were white, and they were walking down another corridor. From the shuttle, Clarke saw that the space station station surrounded a massive sphere, like a planet’s rings wound around the planet. The sphere was made of glass, and inside Clarke could see tiny black dots soaring around and brief flashes of light.  

‘Before we get you settled in, there is a test you must undertake. The test will determine which Clan you are in. Clans are like your family, you will sleep, eat, and learn together. There is the Trikru Clan, Skaikru Clan, Sankru Clan and Azgeda Clan.’ There were a few murmurs at this, and Clarke heard the boy behind her say ‘I hope I’m in Trikru, I’ve heard it’s the best by far.’ 

‘Nah, Skaikru sounds like they do best in Battles though,’ a girl with curly hair at the back replied. 

‘All Clans have their strengths, and you will find each has it’s own values and ideas.’ The Instructor had led them into a large room, with floor to ceiling windows on one side. The view showed the green, blue and grey surface of Polis. Octavia nudged Clarke and nodded towards the window. 

‘That is one bomb ass view.’ Before Clarke had time to reply, the Instructor spoke. 

‘Please wait here, I will call your name one by one. When your name is called, come through this door. I will be taking Monty Green first.’ He looked around, and a boy with messy dark hair stepped forward. They both went through the door at the end of the room. As the door shut behind them, a quiet chatter built up among the rest who remained. 

‘I wonder what the test is like.’

‘I heard that they inject you with something, and then you have hallucinations.’

Clarke had a vivid image of running in her hallucination, and in real life crashing headfirst into a wall. Maybe she wouldn’t even be put in a Clan, they’ll say that there must be some mistake, and that the shuttle will take her home immediately. Her mother would be pleased. Octavia had wandered over to the window, and had her hand up against the glass. 

‘Imagine if the glass broke.’ Octavia grinned.

‘Well, I reckon you’d set a record for how quickly someone’s been kicked out of here,’ Clarke said reasonably. ‘Imagine having ‘May she live forever in the stars’ on your grave.’ 

There was a tall boy, all angles and edges, walking over to them. He was well dressed, and had a pendant of a dragon hanging around his neck, which looked like it was made of gold.  _ He must be from a really rich family _ , Clarke thought,  _ to have a gold pendant. _ Gold was only ever found on Earth. 

‘Who let you two in here? You look like you could hardly pay the fees.’ His features to contorted into a pointed sneer. ‘I bet you’ll be quickest to be chucked out of here.’ He jeered, looking at Clarke. ‘Blondes, never good at anything except sex.’

‘Shut your mouth,’ Octavia fired up immediately. 

‘At least I know how to use mine,’ he taunted, winking at her. Clarke could tell Octavia was getting ready to throw a punch or two, her fists were balls at her sides and her eyes narrowed. She was just about to retort but Instructor Kane chose a good moment to return to the room, forcing them to look as if they weren't planning how they would rearrange this boy’s face. Monty Green hadn’t returned, so Clarke assumed he had gone on through, further into the space station.  

‘Next, Cage Wallace.’ 

The boy smirked, and walked over to Kane. 

‘I’ll see you around, ladies,’ he said as he tipped an imaginary hat at them. Octavia glared after him as he swaggered away. 

‘I’m gonna beat him up so bad, he’ll have bruises for a month.’

‘We better not be in a Clan with him, that wouldn’t end well’ said Clarke, eying the rest of the group. The 100 or so people had formed little clusters, it was just Clarke and Octavia standing alone by the window. 

‘Maybe we should go and find some nicer people to talk to, unless everyone here is a rich bastard.’ Clarke lead the way over to a small huddle, who were talking about the Clans. She waited for a gap in the conversation, then said

‘Hey, my name’s Clarke, and this is Octavia. How are you guys going?’

‘Hey! I’m Jasper,’ A tall boy with messy hair and googles spoke, smiling at them.  

‘What Clan are you guys hoping to be in? I really don’t mind, they all sound pretty awesome to me.’

‘We don’t know much about them really, just the names. Trikru, Skaikru, Sankru and Azgeda.’ Clarke replied, her blue eyes flicking towards him. 

‘Well, they are supposed to be organised depending on what your strengths are. They don’t outright say which Clans come with each strength, but I know they base it on the Battles, to give each team a unique way of playing,’ A girl standing next to Octavia spoke. She had tan skin and quite lean, with dark hair and eyes. ‘Raven Reyes,’ she said, grinning at them, her ponytail flicking. 

‘Octavia. Do you guys have a clue what this test thing is about?’  

‘No idea,’ Clarke admitted. 

‘Apparently it’s just a written answer quiz, but I’ve heard lots of different rumours from different people,’ Raven replied. ‘Someone told me that we had to fight an alien, but that can’t be true considering we haven’t found other life in space yet.’

Clarke looked around, realising that there would only be 20 of them left at The Ark when they got through their training. She wondered who would be kicked out, and who would still be left.  _ Kane should be back soon to get someone else _ , she thought, feeling a pang of nerves in the bottom of her stomach. 

‘Jesus, that Cage guy is taking a while in there, ain’t he?’ Jasper said, his eyes following Clarke’s gaze towards the door Cage and Instructor Kane disappeared through. 

‘He was a bit of an asshole to us just before, so beware,’ Octavia added, glancing over darkly. 

‘We’ll watch out,’ Jasper reassured her. The door opened again and everyone immediately fell silent. 

‘Octavia Blake, come through please.’ 

There was a chorus of ‘good luck’’s from Raven, Jasper and Clarke as she made her way over to Instructor Kane, her confident stride weaving through the groups of people between her and the door. Clarke watched as she disappeared through it, casting one last glance back before the door closed behind her.

Raven and Jasper continued discussing what they thought the test would be, but Clarke was thinking about what the next year would be like. What if Octavia was in a different Clan from her, and made new friends? What if she got left behind?  _ No _ , she thought,  _ that’s stupid. Octaiva’s my best friend, even if we were in different Clans we would still be best friends _ . Her gaze flickered over the other people milling around, waiting. Judging by how many people there were, and how long the tests were taking, they could be here for a while. Instructor Kane came and went, taking a person with him each time. Finally, only Raven and Clarke were left in the room. They had their backs against the wall, sitting cross legged,  making bets on who they thought would be called up next. 

‘50/50 chance,’ Raven said. ‘I reckon it’ll be you.’ 

‘Then I think it’ll be you.’

‘You’re on.’

Instructor Kane entered the room for what felt like the thousandth time, and looked over at the two teens, sitting in the corner.

‘Clarke Griffin, come with me, please.’

‘Dammit! Next time, Reyes, next time,’ Clarke growled at Raven, who laughed and said

‘Good luck Griffin, see you on the other side.’ 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who comments!!!! i get so excited every time i see one!!!!

Instructor Kane led Clarke through the white door into a dark, almost pitch black, room. When the door closed, she could see nothing of what was around her, and Instructor Kane had disappeared completely.  

‘This is the beginning of your test.’ His voice echoed around her, so she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. ‘You will see two options light up in front of you, you simply have to choose which one. To choose an option, walk towards it. If it is an object, pick it up to carry with you further into the test. Firstly,  can you confirm that your name is Clarke Griffin?’

‘Yes.’ Her voice sounded small in comparison to the Instructor’s.

‘Can you tell me your age?’

‘18.’

‘Thank you. Your test will now begin.’

Clarke looked around, but she could see nothing but black. She walked experimentally forward, trying to feel any walls. Suddenly, two lights shone down from the roof, illuminating two objects on the table. One was a book, and one was a knife. What had Kane said? ‘ _ You will see two options light up in front of you, you simply have to choose which one’.  _ Pausing for a second, she took in the two objects.  _ Okay _ , Clarke thought.  _ I have to choose between a book and a knife _ . 

‘Does it matter which one I pick?’ she asked into the gloom. Silence. 

‘What am I picking them for?’ She tried again, to no avail. Looking between the two objects, she walked towards the gleaming knife, and picked it up off the pedestal. The smooth, cold metal fitted neatly into her hand.  The lights switched off again, leaving her in darkness.  She waited, hoping the next pair of lights would pop up soon. She had never been comfortable in the dark, especially since now she had a razor sharp knife in her hand. Thankfully, a little to her left, two doors were illuminated. They looked identical, except one had a blue doorknob and the other had a red one. Clarke wondered whether she was just supposed to choose a door randomly, and considered waiting to see if anything else would happen, but she shrugged and walked towards the left one. Gently pushing it open, she saw the next room was lit up, thank god. The walls were plain white, and there was a door on the opposite side, identical to the one she just came through. The door shut automatically behind her, and she gripped the knife in her hand, she realising she was now trapped in this room. Looking around, she saw a small camera in the top left corner, probably monitoring what she was doing. Clarke gave a winning smile at it and winked. Her smile fell instantly as she heard a low, guttural growl from behind her. 

Turning very slowly, she glanced over her shoulder. Her blue eyes met with ferocious, green ones. It’s lithe black body contrasted magnificently against the pure white of the room, it was crouched low to the ground. Hostility radiated off the massive panther, which was crouched on the ground before her, ready to pounce. Backing away slowly, Clarke suddenly realised what the knife in her hand was for. The great cat started circling her, like a predator does to it’s prey. Was she meant to fight it, or simply get through the door at the end of the room? With her heart hammering, she slowly started making her way towards the door, without taking her eyes off the black creature. Just to make sure she was going towards the door, she flickered her eyes towards the wall. That was all the cat needed, and with lightning speed it pounced, claws gleaming in the light. She saw it out of the corner of her eye, a massive black shape aiming for her throat. It was only Clarke’s experience with street fighting that saved her, as her reflexes kicked in. Spinning away, the panther’s massive black claws missed her by an inch. She was just a couple of meters away from the door now, and instead of moving slowly, she lunged for the handle. She tried to yank the door open, hoping to get out without needing to actually win in an impossible fight. To her horror she discovered that the door wouldn’t budge. She would actually have to fight a panther. A fucking panther. Her hand was wet with sweat, and the metal of the knife was no longer cold. With her back against the wall, she was trapped. It took it’s time coming forward, like it had all the time in the world. It knew that she had no escape, and to it she was nothing. She would become another meal for this black beast.  _ No _ , Clarke thought.  _ It’s just another street bully. That’s all _ . The cat was preparing to pounce again, claws extended and ready. This time, it would be going for the kill. Clarke Cland herself to stay absolutely still, every fighting technique she had learnt running through her mind. Before she had time to think of a plan, the panther pounced again, aiming for her throat. Letting her instincts take over, and the world seemed to slow down. She dropped to the ground, and held her knife pointing directly at the panther. Holding it against her chest, she prepared to feel those gleaming claws tear her to shreds. As those green eyes came inches from her own, claws at her neck, she expected to be thrown against the wall but the panther’s weight on the knife she held, but it did not come. The panther froze, the knife so deep in it’s chest’s that she could only see the hilt. It’s image shattered, leaving Clarke alone in the empty room.  _ It had been a hologram _ , she realised. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, her hands still gripping the weapon tight enough that it hurt. Loosening her hold, she noticed the door she had been trying to open was slightly ajar. Beyond it she could see nothing but blackness again. 

Picking herself up from the ground, she walked cautiously towards the door. _This time_ , she thought, _I’ll keep the door open, so I have a bit of light_. She entered the room, but as soon as she stepped through the doorway, the door closed behind her. _Not creepy at all_ , Clarke thought to herself, _totally not horror movie material_. Walking forward, she waited for her next options. None came. She walked forward some more, hands out in front of her, but the room remained pitch black. _Maybe they had made a mistake, or where having some good old technical difficulties_ , Clarke wondered. Then she noticed the ticking. Her first thought was _bomb_ , but as she listened more closely she realised it was a clock. No, two clocks. Maybe she was supposed to follow the sound, she thought. Feeling her way through the dark, the ticking got ominously louder as she got closer to the source. Hands outstretched, she slowly walked forward, not wanting to crash into anything. The sound of the two clocks got louder and louder, she kept following the sound until she felt a wall beneath her fingers. The ticking sounded like it was coming from just above her head, and she reached up to try and find where a clock was on the wall. Instead, he fingers found a switch. She flicked it, and suddenly the room was filled with light. She saw the clocks above her, ticking away. There didn’t seem to be anything special about them, but she took them down from the wall anyway. Looking around the room, she saw that she was only about 5 meters away from the door she came through. It felt like so much further in the dark. Another camera was in the top corner of the room, and she was tempted to flip it the bird, just for fun. She didn’t, because she knew The Ark wasn’t exactly lenient with rule breakers, and there would probably be a rule against rude language and hand signals somewhere. There was another plain white door, just to her right. She knew it was probably foolish to try to open it, but she did anyway. Surprise surprise, it was locked. Taking in the room once more, she noticed a tiny black torch in one corner. Walking over, Clarke picked it up, wondering whether she was supposed to have found it beforehand, to help her find the clocks. She clicked the button to turn it on, but no light came out. _Well, that’s strange and slightly useless_ , she thought. _Two clocks and a torch that doesn’t work is supposed to get me through that door_. She walked around the room twice, checking for any more switches. Nothing. She looked at the times on the clocks. they were both at 11:45am, which she knew  wasn't the actual time. It had been almost 4 when they had arrived at the launchpad, to be taken here. Maybe they were counting down to 12 o’clock? Was this a time limit? or did she have to wait till then for something else to happen? Clarke made rounds of the room again, trying to take in every little detail. _Grey carpet,_ she thought, _white walls, more grey carpet, more white walls, a door, oh look, some more carpet, what are the odds, some more white walls, two hooks where the clocks were, another door._ She tried the switch on the torch again, but it remained useless. Clarke wondered if it was simply broken. _My mother wouldn’t be impressed_ , she chuckled. _Here I am, at the world renowned Ark, stuck in a room with two clocks and a broken torch._ _Hang on_ , she thought, struck with an idea. She screwed off the top of the torch, which revealed the inside. She glanced in the metal capsule, and discovered there were no batteries. _Well_ , Clarke thought, _that would explain it_. The clock’s ticking had started to get in her nerves, it seemed to echo and surround her in the silence. _If only i could turn it off_ , she thought. _But that would mean...oh._ She could get batteries from the clocks, and put them into the torch! Rushing over to where she had laid them on the floor, she flipped one over and found the little compartment where the batteries were. Clicking it open, she pulled out the single battery that was inside, and did the same to the other clock. _Aha_! Two batteries and a soon to be working torch. _Not that it would do much_ , she shrugged, _but whatever_. Clarke nimbly screwed the torch back together, and clicked the button experimentally. This time, a bright blue light came out. Shining it around the room, nothing seemed to be different. _Another waste of time_ , she guessed. A flash of light caught her eye, and she looked over to the far wall. Nothing there. Perhaps she had imagined it, or maybe it was just the torch. She shrugged, turned off the torch, dropped it dejectedly and contemplated what to do next. At least the clocks had stopped ticking. Maybe she would be stuck here, and someone would have to get her out. Clarke imagined the look on Cage Wallace’s face if he saw that she couldn’t even finish the test. She felt her hands clench at the thought, and ran over everything she had again. She would _not_ give Cage that satisfaction. With new motive, her eyes flickered to the switch, to the hooks the clocks had been on, around the walls of the room, to the camera, back to the switch. Clarke drew in her breath as something clicked in her brain. _Torches aren’t supposed to be used in light, they worked best in the dark_. Reaching down, she picked the torch up off the ground, walked over to where the light switch was, and flicked it off. She was plunged into darkness yet again, but this time she had something of her own. Clarke flicked the torch on, and shone it around the room again. Letters, written in what seemed like bright, blue tinged ink, shone on the wall next to her.  ‘You can only change one thing,’ Clarke read aloud, and heard the sound of the lock unclicking, behind her. She turned and saw the door ajar, light spilling through. She reread the words on the door to make sure she remembered them, and pulled the door open. 

The light blinded her eyes as she tried to look around the room. When her blue eyes had adjusted, she saw she was standing in a corridor between two enclosures. One, about the size of the last room, with green grass, a little rock pool with a little flowing stream. A chunk of meat was lying near the edge of the massive cage, freshly cut. The other was bare floor, only a few metres wide. Inside, another massive panther paced back and forth. It looked at her with broken eyes, as if it had lived a life in that cage, with those white floors and white doors, looking at the luxury in the other enclosure but never being able to reach it. Clarke kept completely still, even though she knew there were bars between her and the massive cat. Suddenly, a massive black form threw itself at the bars in the grassy cage, another panther. Clarke stumbled backwards, bumping into the wall behind her. She took a few moments to calm her breathing, surveying the panther which was know prowling up and down, paws making no noise on the grass. Clarke was sure that the it was the same panther from the other room, it had the same intense green glare.  _ It’s just another hologram, _ Clarke told herself, watching it’s black fur gleam in the light. Clarke noticed that the panther’s eyes where focused on the knife in her hand. She bent down and put it on the ground, and the panther immediately relaxed. Che spotted the door at the end of the corridor, and knew better than to just try the handle. The writing on the wall had said ‘ _ You can only change one thing _ ’. Clarke felt the bars, they were definitely real, not a hologram. She slowly knelt down, and, without breaking the panther’s stare, felt the grass to make sure that was real too, which it was. The panther stalked towards her, and there was no hostility in it’s stance. Clarke didn’t dare move, her hand still just within the bars. She considered bringing her hand back to safety, but the panther didn’t seem to see her as a threat. It slowly approached her, watching her hand. When it reached her it lowered its great head slowly and  sniffed her hand. Clarke had previously thought it was a hologram, but seeing it this close, with more detail than even the highest technology holograms couldn’t replicate this. It raised its head again, and looked at her right in the eyes.  _ This is no hologram,  _ Clarke realised, still looking into it’s deep green eyes _ , this was the real thing.  _ Looking over her shoulder at the other panther, stuck in the tiny cage, she realised that this panther was real too.  _ They keep real fucking panthers on this space station?  _ Clarke shook her head. Whatever she was expecting for the test, this was not it.  _ You can only change one thing _ . Looking between the two cages, she noticed the locks both had their keys in them. She brought her hand back through the bars cautiously, and straightened up. Both of the panthers were watching her, and neither of them seemed to want to tear her to shreds, which was lucky.  _ You can only change one thing.  _ Making up her mind, Clarke walked over to the two locks, and turned both of the keys. The panther behind the bars of the small enclosure immediately padded out into the corridor. Clarke backed away slowly, not sure what it would do. But, it seemed to be glad to be free of its tiny cage. As it sipped water from the stream, it looked up gratefully at her. Clarke could’ve sworn the panther was trying to say ‘thank you’. She heard, yet again, the click of a door behind her. Looking back, she saw the two panthers drinking side by side from the stream. Smiling a little to herself, she left the room, into the next.  

‘Well done, Clarke, you have completed the test.’ The voice of Instructor Kane was the most welcoming thing in the world. He was standing in the middle of the room, with four other people, all of the unfamiliar. Her eyes fell on a girl with cocoa coloured hair, with intricate braids pulling it away from her face. She stood tall, with her hands behind her back. Clarke almost stumbled, but managed to pass it off pretty smoothly, which was lucky because she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. Instructor Kane’s voice sounded far away, but it brought her attention off the brunette, although she couldn’t help looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

‘These are all students in the year above you, here to welcome you into one of their Clans. We are proud to inform you that you are now a member of the Skaikru Clan!’ To Clarke’s disappointment, it was the black boy who stepped forward, smiling at her. She smiled back, but to her annoyance couldn’t stop her gaze from slipping to the girl with the braids. 

‘This is Wells,’ Instructor Kane said, gesturing to the boy who stepped forward. ‘He will show you to your dorms in Skaikru, and give you a short tour before dinner. Congratulations, Clarke, we are very glad to have you here at The Ark’ 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now... lexa  
> thank you so much for reading!!!!!   
> (comments and kudos make me write faster... pls validate me)

Wells led Clarke through the corridors of the space station. Everywhere she looked, there were white walls and white floors.  _ Seriously, did these guys just think ‘let’s just make everything white and it’ll look fine’? _ Clarke thought. Wells showed her the mess hall, where they ate all their meals. On the right, there were floor to ceiling windows, this time facing inwards. You could see the massive sphere the space station encircled. There was no one in it now, but there were various obstacles like nets and cubes inside. Wells explained that each Clan had two unofficial tables in the mess hall, but every now and then people cross to different ones.

‘You’ll get some weird looks though, we are pretty competitive here.’

Clarke wondered where Octavia was, whether she was in Skaikru as well. She chuckled at the thought of Raven, probably completing the test just as she had done right now, and hopefully freaking out as much as she had. Wells next showed her the way from the mess hall to the dorms. It wasn’t far, which worked for Clarke. Food should always be close at hand. 

‘You will find that your stuff has been taken to the dorms already, it’ll just be sitting outside.’ They turned a corner, and she saw a bright blue dragon on a door. It was a very simple design, but it definitely got across that Skaikru weren’t going to be friendly in battles. 

‘Skaikru’s team colour is blue, and our mascot is a dragon. Last year, we came second on the leaderboard. Azgeda Clan won, they’ve won every year for ages. You get points in battles, against the other Clans. You battle against the other people in your year, but the points add up overall. Pretty simple.’

‘How do the battles actually work?’ Clarke asked. The battles where what she was looking forward to most at The Ark, she couldn’t wait to get into the 0 gravity conditions and battle against other Clans.

‘The battles will be one of the first things they teach you, because you guys need to get used to working in 0 gravity. I’m terrible at explaining things, so I’ll leave it to your battle instructor. Every Clan has one, ours is Instructor Kane, who is also your year’s Director. He’s tough sometimes, but he’s good. Been here for years.’

Picking up her bags, Clarke pushed open the door into the dorms, entering the place she would now call home. Inside was a circular room, with 6 doors coming off it on one side. The other had couches lining the walls, a couple of tables to do work at. There were groups of people talking around the room, sitting on the couches. She recognised a couple of people from when they came up in the shuttle.   

‘This is what we call Arkadia. Each Clan has their own Arkadia, they are kind of like common rooms. Your dorm’s that one, I’m not allowed in,’ said Wells, pointing to the door closest to the exit. ‘Put your bags inside, you can choose a bunk that isn’t already taken. Meet me out here, I’ll introduce you to some people.’ 

‘Thanks. Just before I go in, do you know if a girl named Octavia is in Skaikru?’

‘Not that I know of, sorry. But if she is, and you want a bunk with her, you could try and switch with someone when you know.’

‘Thanks.’ Clarke walked over to the door Wells had pointed out, took a deep breath, and entered. It was empty, and inside there were about 10 bunks, all lined up against one wall. On the opposite wall there were drawers and rails for clothes. Some people had already put their clothes inside, others had just left their bags on a bunk. There were a couple of empty bunks, so she lugged her bag over to one at the back and dumped it on the bottom bunk. She sat down on it, wanting some time to herself before she went back out. Here she was, The Ark. The place she had been aiming for her whole life. She didn’t feel particularly different, in fact she was feeling quite small. She was in a massive space station, away from everything she knew, except Octavia. She felt quite exhausted, the adrenalin from that fight with the panther and her test had completely worn her out. She didn’t really know anyone in Skaikru yet, except perhaps Wells. But she had her own friends in her year, she didn’t want to follow her around. Someone pushed the door open, making her jump. Raven entered the room, laden with her bags. 

‘Raven! You’re in Skaikru too?’ 

‘Hell yeah I am, this is going to be awesome!’ 

‘Dude, I was just thinking about how I didn’t know anyone here, but now I do, thank god!’ 

‘Missed me, Griffin?’ Raven winked, then laughed.

‘Oh shut up. It’s just nice to see a familiar face.’ 

‘Can I have the bunk above yours?’ She asked. She thought quickly of Octavia, but she nodded anyway. If she was here, they could switch. She came over and climbed up the little ladder, putting her bags on her bed. 

‘What do you reckon this Clan’s strength is?’ Raven wondered.

‘No clue, but I’ve got to admit, I’m looking forward to the battles.’

‘Oh man, the other Clans are gonna go down.’ She grinned wickedly. ‘I checked out the Battlesphere on the way here through the windows, I can’t wait to get in there with Skaikru and try out some moves.’ Clarke assumed the Battlesphere was the massive glass sphere the space station circled around. 

‘I wonder what our first day is going to be like.’ 

‘Sterling, the boy who showed me here just then, said that they’ll show us the Battlesphere, show us where the classrooms are, introduction things like that. We start classes the next day,’ She said. ‘I better get back to Sterling, he said he would introduce me to some people.’ 

‘I’ll come, I’m supposed to find Wells to meet people too.’ They left the dorms and returned back into Arkadia, finding him chatting to a friend by one of the couches. She made her way over, Raven following. 

‘That’s Sterling, over there,’ Raven said, pointing to the boy who was talking to Wells.

‘That works out well, because the guy he’s talking to is Wells,’ Clarke replied, pointing get out as she walked up.

‘Hey Raven, you find a bunk alright?’ Sterling said, talking to Raven. 

‘Yeah, I’m above Clarke here. She ain’t gonna get much sleep, I’ll move around in the middle of the night and shake the whole bunk. Strategic positioning, eh Clarke?’ She shoved Raven at that, and she went on introducing them. ‘Clarke, Sterling. Sterling, Clarke.’

‘Hey! I’m with Wells, but maybe we could team up?’ Clarke asked. She felt a strange ease being around Raven, they understood each other, they were two like-minded souls. 

‘That’s a good idea!’ Wells agreed. ‘However it’s almost 6:30, which means it’s time for dinner.’ 

‘Sweet, I’m starving,’ Raven chided, patting her stomach. Wells and Sterling let Raven and Clarke lead the way, to test their memory. They disagreed at a few corners, but ended up finding their way to the mess hall eventually, arriving a couple of minutes before 6:30. They settled themselves at one of the 8 long tables, one which was unofficially Skaikru’s. Clarke searched the room for Octavia, but she couldn’t see her. 

‘I’ll be right back,’ she said to the others, and got up to find her best friend. She started walking around the edge of the hall, scanning each table. Her eyes fell on a particular brunette, sitting on a table two away from her own. It was like someone had put the world on pause. Sound seemed to be muffled, and colours around her seemed to be duller than usual. Her hair tumbled down her back, in a kind of casually messy way. She was laughing at something, her eyes lit up in the kind of way that made you stop in your tracks, which is exactly what Clarke did. Realising this, she blushed, and kept walking, trying to make sure her eyes didn’t fall on her again. She failed miserably, and almost sighed in exasperation at herself each time. Whenever it happened, it was like the world just shut itself off, until there was only the brunette left. She began to notice little things, like the way she sat (Back straight, legs crossed, one elbow on the table, the other arm in her lap) and her facial expressions (she always kept eye contact with the person talking, sometimes she smirked with one side of her mouth, every now and again she scrunched up her nose, before laughing with her friends). Then she noticed the girl sitting next to her was Octavia. How could she not have seen her best friend, sitting next to the girl she kept glancing at this whole time? She started to walk over, weaving between tables to get to her. Hang on, the brunette was  _ right there _ , she couldn’t just walk up to Octavia, and possibly make a fool of herself in front of that girl. She got struck with an idea, something she and Octavia used to do in early high school days, when they wanted to get each other’s attention without other people knowing. Slightly too casually, she walked up the aisle where she was sitting, next to that girl, keeping her eyes straight ahead, and tapped Octavia lightly on the shoulder as she went past. She kept walking, but she knew Octavia had seen her. Stopping at the edge of the hall, she saw her also making her way towards her. 

‘Howdy Octavia, fancy seeing you here,’ Clarke said with a smirk.

‘What a pleasure it is, Clarke Griffin.’ They both laughed, and then gave each other a quick hug. ‘Why’d you bring me over here? You could have just talked to me other there,’ Octavia said, gesturing to the table she had been sitting at. Clarke glanced over too, and uncontrollably, her gaze fell on the brunette. 

‘Ah, I see,’ Octavia said knowingly, realising where Clarke was looking.

‘Oh shut up, she’s just pretty, that’s all,’ she said, trying to pass it off.

‘You’re practically drooling, Griffin.’ Octavia raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She knows me too well, Clarke thought. ‘I could introduce you, if you want,’ Octavia said casually, now inspecting her nails. Clarke's head whipped around.

‘No, no, that’s okay, I’m sure I’ll talk to her sometime, when I’m, you know, more prepared,’ Clarke stumbled, and Octavia laughed. 

‘She was showing me around before, but she had to go off to get another new student. I like her though, so I approve of your taste,’ Octavia chucked. ‘Her name’s Lexa Woods, she’s a year above us.’ 

‘Shit, shit, shit, shit!’ Lexa had looked over at them, and for the briefest of seconds, Clarke's blue eyes met her green ones. Clarke had been unable to break her gaze from Lexa's, but Lexa had looked back at a boy who was sitting opposite her. There was the tiniest of smiles on her face. Octavia squealed, and said 

‘I can already see it!’   

‘I said shut up, Blake!’ Clarke growled, she knew she was being obvious but she couldn’t help it. 

‘Dude, what Clan are you in? You better be in Trikru, you lovesick puppy,’ she said.

‘Shut up! And no, I’m in-’

‘Let me guess, you two have come over here to discuss who you need to frame, so you don’t get kicked out?’ A jeering voice said from behind them. It was Cage Wallace, the asshole himself. ‘Two girls like yourselves will never make it through anyway, not without some foul play. I mean,  _ I _ know how to get you through, but you’d have to give me something in return.’ Octavia was itching for a fight, but she was in a room full of people, and she would be on her way back down to Polis faster than his bruises would start showing. It was fighting against all of Clarke’s instincts, but she Cland her hands to stay at her sides. ‘What, the little girl lost for words?’ Cage taunted. 

‘Shut your mouth.’ Clarke's hostility radiated off her. ‘I see you are just all words, afraid of beating up a little girl then?’  

‘Bitch,’ he spat, but he was aware of the people around them too, so he didn’t dare do anything more than that. ‘Just wait until we get to the battles, Azgeda will kick your asses.’

‘I think you’ll find you underestimate us, but that’s because we’re  _ girls _ , right?’ Cage winked, and said, 

‘and I’m a guy, so, back to that offer from before, I know how to get you through. You know it, you girls aren’t going to make it 5 weeks here. I just ask for a little something in return, you know, since you’re girls and I’m a guy.’ Octavia almost let loose on him, but Clarke’s next words reminded her of where they were.

‘We don’t need anything from you, thanks. We’ll see you around, Cage.’ Her voice was laced with ice, and there was a dangerous glint in her eye, one that led, to broken arms and rearrangement of faces. They turned around, and began walking back to Octavia's table. Octavia had to Clan herself to not turn around and give him the beating of his life, but she knew it wasn’t worth risking her place at The Ark. 

‘You never told me what Clan you are in,’ Octavia said, as they wove their way between tables and people. 

‘Skaikru,’ Clarke replied, her mind still on Cage.

‘It’s fine, I’m in Trikru, but we can still see each other between classes, and at mealtimes, yeah?’ Octavia said, punching her arm lightly. 

‘Yeah, you’re totally going down in Battles though,’ Clarke grinned, trying to take her mind off which spots would be most painful for Cage when she got a chance. A bell had just rang somewhere towards the front of the room, where food starting to be served. They saw a screen in the top left, showing the Clan and year of the people who could go up and get food.  _ Trikru, Year 1 _ just flashed across. 

‘You should probably go back to the Skaikru table, for today. I can go up and get food now, I’m starving.’’

‘I’ll see you after dinner! We’ll go exploring.’ Waving Octavia off, she went back and joined her table with Raven, Sterling and Wells. They were talking about classes, but she didn’t join in. She was still thinking about the encounter with Cage, and how the next few years were going to go, especially for her and Octavia.  _ Skaikru, Year 1 _ flashed up on the screen, and they all got up to collect their food. Dinner was casual, she bantered with Raven, and Wells and Sterling told them more about The Ark. By the time she was back in her dorm, it was only 7:30 but she was absolutely exhausted. She crashed on her bed, falling asleep instantly. Raven walked in 20 minutes later, found her on her bed, not having even changed. She chuckled quietly to himself, and gently pulled her blankets over her body. She grabbed something to sleep in and got changed in the bathroom which came off their dorm room, making sure to be quiet. Raven then climbed up onto her bed, lay down, and slowly fell asleep. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some clexa.... and some other things

Clarke jerked awake, hearing people around her moving around as they got up out of bed. Momentarily, she forgot where she was. It all came flooding back to her, as her stomach filled with butterflies. She remembered the shuttle, her test, Cage, and that she was at The Ark. She ran through it all in her mind, making sure it was definitely real. Looking around at the people getting up and gathering their clothes, she knew it must be real. Raven climbed down the little ladder on their bunk, saw she was awake, and said in a sleepy voice,

‘It’s 8 o’clock, and breakfast is at 8:30, a girl from Year 2 just told us.’ She grabbed some clothes from her bag, then headed over to the bathroom to change. Clarke got out of bed, wiped the sleep out of her eyes, and realised she was still in her clothes from yesterday. Shaking her head, she found some clothes in her bag, which had been shoved under her bed the night before, and went into the bathroom to get changed. The bathroom had toilets on one side, showers on the other, and a couple of changing rooms at the end of the room. Sinks ran down the middle, and mirrors where on the walls in between cubicles. Walking to the back, she walked into a cubicle and got changed. Raven was waiting for her when she returned back into the dorm. She was watching the other people in Skaikru, who were going to be their classmates for the next few years. No one was talking, most people didn’t seem to know many people and everyone was a bit nervous. Walking up to Raven, she poked her arm and said ‘Wanna go down to the mess hall early? Maybe do a little exploring on the way down?’ The space station was massive, and she had no doubt there were plenty of things to discover.

‘Why not?’ She said, and followed her out of Arkadia.

\-  

Half an hour later they were seated at an Skaikru table, having explored as much as they dared in the time before breakfast. They had found lots of classrooms, a couple of science labs, some offices, the Sankru dorms, with their yellow sphinx printed in their door, and bumped into Wells and Sterling on the way. Like the night before, Clans and years were showing on the screen, telling people when to come up and get their food. Clarke had been surprised how good the food was the night before, and she learnt from Wells that every day a different Clan is responsible for preparing the food for everyone. Skaikru assigns two year levels onto the job whenever it’s their turn, so you don’t have to be on Food Duty every time it’s Skaikru’s turn. 

‘Sankru,’ Sterling said, ‘Always cook great food. Skaikru has good food, but Sankru are always the best. Not sure why. We all use the same recipes. Be careful of Azgeda food though, they don’t seem to care much about it so it’s always a little dodgy.’ Today, it was Azgeda’s turn. As Clarke and Raven walked up with the rest of the Year One Skaikru, she saw Cage behind one of the tables, serving food. As she reached him, he looked at her and smirked, and gave her a tiny portion of the yoghurt she was getting, to go with the muesli she’d already served. 

‘Better be careful you aren’t eating too much,’  He said, eyeing her figure. 

‘I’ll eat as much as I want, thanks.’ Snatching the serving spoon out of his hand, she added more to her bowl. Raven glared at him as she went past, but didn’t say anything. She knew Clarke could look after herself. Walking with her tray of food back to their table, she noticed how students almost always wore the colour of their Clan somewhere in their clothing. Most people wore black, grey or white things, so it was easy to tell. A Sankru girl wore a yellow shirt and a Azgeda wore lots of white. Clarke kept her eyes peeled for Octavia, and refused to think that she was also looking for Lexa Woods, but she definitely found her eyes drawing to every person with similar coloured hair to the brunette. To her slight disappointment, she didn’t see her anywhere. She wasn’t at the Trikru table she could see, and neither was Octavia. Nerves pooled in the bottom of her stomach as she remembered the day that was going to come. She didn’t really know why she was nervous, they were just being shown around today, and meeting their teachers. 

‘Who was that kid at the serving table? You met him before?’ asked Raven, looking over at him.

‘Yeah, he’s been after me and Octavia since we got here. Dunno why.’ 

‘I’ll beat him up any time you want me to,’ Raven said, glaring at him.

‘Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered. Besides, I don’t want you to get in trouble, and get kicked out and leave me here.’ She joked, grinning at her. There was a sudden hush around the hall, and Raven and Clarke looked over, seeing everyone facing towards the front. There was a tall man standing there, waiting for everyone to be quiet. 

‘That’s Director Jaha,’ Wells whispered. ‘He’s like the principal, he’s the boss of the place, but no one really says that. Everyone just calls him Director.’ 

When the entire hall was quiet, he spoke. 

‘Welcome to all our new students, and welcome back returning ones.’ His voice was deep, and carried clearly around the whole room. As he talked, he started walking between the tables. 

‘To our new students, The Ark Academy is a wondrous place, full of opportunities. To those who complete their education here, you will find yourselves exploring the galaxy for our next planet. Although, know that we will not hesitate to send you back to Polis if your marks are not up to scratch, or if you break one of our rules. However, we believe you can all make it to the end, and achieve what you all came here for. Year Ones, stay behind for your induction day, everyone else, you all have lessons to get to. This is the beginning of another wonderful year at The Ark!’ The sound of scraping chairs filled the room, as students got up to start their classes. Clarke got a brief glimpse of Lexa, her brunette hair swishing as she wove her way between the tables to the door. It made Clarke's stomach flip over, but to her disappointment, Lexa disappeared among the people moving towards the door. She tried to scan the crowd for her, but to no avail.  _ I really need to get a grip _ , she thought.  At last, the first years where the only people left. The room felt much bigger without all the people, the windows along the side showing the Battlesphere much more impressive. Students were scattered around, most of them alone and looking around at their fellows in their Clans. 

‘Today is your induction day. Today, you will group with your Clan and have some of the older students take you around. You will go to each of your classrooms and meet each of your teachers. At the end of the day, you will go into the Battlesphere for the first time.’ There were murmurs of excitement at this, many of the first years were looking forward to battles the most. Director Jaha then started gathering the students from each of the Clans, and introducing the three or four older students who were going to take them around. Clarke saw Octavia get up when Trikru was called, and saw her talking to a boy she didn’t know. Once Trikru left, Azgeda was called up. Clarke saw Cage Wallace get up and walk to the front, bumping into someone on the way and not stopping to say sorry. Finally Skaikru was called, and they moved to the font. A tall girl with shoulder length hair and a blonde boy standing next to Director Jaha. Clarke felt Raven shift slightly, and saw her glancing uneasily towards the green eyed boy.

‘Welcome, first year Skaikru. Welcome to The Ark. Your Clan is proud to have you. These are your fellow Skaikru students who will be taking you around today.’ He indicated towards the girl and boy next to him, who stepped forward, the girl smiling. 

‘Tomorrow your classes will commence, and we expect you to be on time to every class. But, for the first few days we will excuse any tardiness as we know this space station is easy to get lost in. Don’t hesitate to ask someone where to go, all of our students are happy to help you out.’   

They set off, half of Skaikru with the girl and half with the boy. Raven and Clarke had been put with the boy, his brown eyes running over each of them as if he already knew who would be kicked out. Clarke noticed that Raven was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, and kept looking at the floor. Finn was also determinedly avoiding her gaze. He led them through the white corridors of The Ark, the 10 odd first year Skaikru students trailing after him. 

‘This is the Science station,’ Finn said, as they entered a new section of the space station. 

‘This is the biggest branch at The Ark, as most of your classes here are science based.’ Doors came off the main corridor, and windows lined the walls showing the classrooms, some of them with classes inside and a teacher at the front. One of the classrooms had a massive fish tank covering a wall, with colourful seaweed and fish inside, swimming around lazily. They didn’t seem to be at all phased that they were in a space station spinning above the planet they were supposed to be on. Moving on, the group made their way out the other side of the science station into the next branch, passing a group of Azgedas, going the other way. They entered a massive library, with tall bookshelves towards the back and tables occupying the front, many with students sitting and studying. Each bookshelf had a ladder on rails to reach the higher books. It was like they had taken a step back in time, the floor was wooden floorboards, there were armchairs clustered in the corners and the smell of books was strong. Gone were the fluorescent lights, replaced with many lamps hanging from shelves, from the high ceiling and sitting on tables.  _ Octavia would love this _ , Clarke thought as she spotted a little nook with armchairs and pillows. 

‘The shelves on the right are full of books we can use for classes, and on the left are fiction books. You can take them up to the dorms, but you have to return them within a week,’ Finn explained, as they walked through the library. At the back, there was another door that lead out. A flash of light caught Clarke's eye, and she saw a small window between two shelves as she walked past. The flash had come from the Battlesphere, where she could see a couple of people firing guns with bullets of light. She saw a girl twist through the air, dodging the jets of white-purple light as she went, firing with her own gun. Behind her, Clarke saw a flicker of that brunette hair she was beginning become familiar with, and another flash of white-purple light. This shot found its mark, and the girl who had been so gracefully dodging every shot fired at her was hit. Her gun was immediately rendered useless, so she couldn’t return fire. Clarke had a quick glimpse of Lexa's grin before she passed the window. Just that one grin made her stomach leap, and she cursed herself for being so sappy. 

-

At least, the part of the day Clarke had been looking forward to had arrived. They were going to go to the Battlesphere. They had to wear special suits, which were black with the colour of your Clan striped down the side. Each person had a suit that fitted their measurements, so they all clung to their bodies. Clarke thought they were a bit ridiculous at first, but putting it on and seeing how it looked made her realise she looked a little like a badass ninja, so she changed her mind about them. The suit was comfortable, and didn’t restrict her movement at all. In fact, it seemed to give her movements extra support and her muscles extra strength. Next to her, Raven finished changing into hers and was now miming an imaginary slow-motion sword fight, which Clarke promptly joined in on. 

Many epic sound effects and imaginary wounds later, Clarke and Raven joined the rest of Skaikru on their way down to the Battlesphere, all geared up. Kane met them down there, and they gathered silently where he was waiting. Raven kept craning her head, trying to see into the Battlesphere. 

‘Today you will just be going inside, we won’t be doing any exercises. Once you step off the ledge, it is zero gravity. Who would like to go first?’

There was a pause, but then Raven stepped forward, like Clarke knew she would. Kane smiled at her, and gestured behind him towards the ledge, and the circular entrance to the massive glass sphere. She walked forward, right the edge of the ledge, and looked back over her shoulder. She gave a wicked grin, and jumped. Raven sailed upwards, out of site, the Clan of her jump sending her shooting forward without any gravity or air resistance to stop her from moving. Clarke heard a whoop from Raven, and saw her soaring out into the middle of the sphere. The rest of the class ran to the ledge, eager to try out the 0 gravity in the Battlesphere too. Kane let them go, and one by one everyone stepped off the ledge and into the sphere, occasionally bumping into each other. Clarke was the last to step off, not because she was afraid but because she couldn’t be bothered to jostle in the crowd to go earlier. By this time, Raven was on the other side, holding onto the railings that ran all over the sphere’s walls. There was another entrance directly opposite the one they came through, identical in every way, except that the doors had been shut. Clarke surveyed the people floating around, and the cubes, all clustered together to her left. She wondered how they would be used during the battles, and had a few tactics already forming in her mind. 

Clarke chose a gap to aim for so she wouldn’t crash into anyone, or any of the cubes, and jumped. It felt weightless, and every movement was effortless. Gliding forward, she realised how massive the sphere was. There was so much space, just empty space, it was slightly disconcerting. With nothing to stop her movement, she kept moving further and further into the sphere, around her, people were hanging off the railings on the side, or also flying through. Reaching the wall, she grabbed a rail and pulled herself so that she was facing where Raven had been, except that she was no longer there. Scanning the sphere, she spotted her pushing off a wall, slowly flipping through the air. The zero gravity conditions seemed to be right up Raven’s alley, even though she had never experienced it before. Other people where having less luck, flailing around or just clinging to the wall. Clarke aimed and pushed off again, soaring through the empty space. She made for the cubes, wanting to see how they connected together and how heavy they were. Marvelling at how effortlessly she flew through the air, Clarke realised that through the glass, there was nothing but space. She could see trillions of stars, with nothing but a glass wall separating her from them. She suddenly felt very small, nothing but a speck in a little bubble, orbiting a planet. At the same time, she felt so light. Not just physically, but mentally too. There was a sense of  _ rightness  _ about this, the stars ahead of her and she was finally on her way towards them. She looked over her shoulder and saw the grey surface of Octa, stretching out as the space station orbited around it. As much as she loved her life there, she couldn’t wait to get away and explore the stars. Lost in thought, she didn’t realise she was still moving. She crashed into the cubes,and the impact knocked the breath out of her. she flailed awkwardly through the air, having rebounded off one of the cubes, cursing to herself. She was now uncontrollably moving away from the cubes, she saw with slight annoyance, so she would have to wait until she reached another wall and try again. At that moment, a certain Raven Reyes floated up next to her, grinning wildly. 

‘How fucking awesome is this?’ she asked, looking around. ‘Also, don’t think I missed that marvellous crash of yours just now Griffin, and I’m not planning on forgetting it anytime soon.’ 

‘I’m glad I provided you with some 5 star entertainment,’ Clarke said, grinning back at her. Then, she promptly crashed into another wall. Raven cackled with laughter as Clarke rebounded off, this time she catching hold of a rail before she could go sailing off again. Suddenly, she felt a pull towards the entrance they came through. She gripped the rail, confused, as she looked over and realised Instructor Kane was manipulating gravity with a little remote, pulling them all back towards him. She let go, and immediately started to move. Raven was already ahead of her, gazing at the stars beyond the glass as she was pulled in. She looked peaceful, gliding through the air and her face full of wonder. Raven was pulled back to the present when they arrived at the landing, and they all gathered around Instructor Kane once again. 

‘I hope you all enjoyed that. We are going to do some short training exercises, just to introduce you all to some very basic techniques, before we have to leave.’ He started explaining some basic drills to them, drills which were supposed to help them get used to the zero gravity environment. They did super simple things, like pushing off so you landed exactly where you wanted to go, and how to twist so that you don’t spin out of control, and various other techniques that helped you get around without crashing into anybody or going out of control. Clarke thoroughly enjoyed herself, everything came quite naturally to her. Raven was finding everything so easy she was almost bored.

‘I want to start using those guns already,’ she complained as she flipped past Clarke, arms crossed. 

-

An hour later, they were back in the dorm, getting ready for dinner. Tonight Clarke planned to sit with Octavia, and maybe Raven along too. She was being a little slow to get ready for dinner because she was tired, or at least that’s what she was telling herself. Really, she just wanted to come later than Octavia so she would sit at the Trikru table, and maybe get to talk to Lexa. 

‘Hurry up, we’re gonna be late if you keep up that pace. I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for a meal.’ Raven was leaning against the door, waiting for her. Finally, Clarke finished brushing her hair and joined Raven walking down to the mess hall. Arkadia was completely empty when they left, so they ran part of the way there, not wanting to be late. Puffing, Clarke spotted Octavia with an empty bench beside her, and made her way over. Dinner was just about to start, and the first names were going up on the screen. She and Raven sat down at the Trikru table, earning some funny looks from both Trikru and Skaikru, but both girls ignored them. As soon as they sat down, Trikru first years got called up to get food, so Raven and Clarke were alone at the table. Clarke saw Lexa walking up to get food, and saw with disappointment that she returned to another table. She noticed that her cocoa coloured hair was lighter at the tips, and her little braids changed patterns every day. Clarke wondered who did them for her, and had an imagine in her mind of braiding that hair herself. She shook her head, feeling scandalised at how far gone she was already for this girl who she hadn’t even talked to. As Trikru returned to the table, Clarke and Raven were called up. Finally, they were all settled and eating, most of them too hungry and busy eating to talk. After their stomachs were satisfied, conversation bubbled up around the table.  

‘Octavia, remember Raven from yesterday? She’s in Skaikru with me.’ Octavia nodded, still mouth full of food. 

‘How was your induction day? I’m so tired I feel like I could go into hibernation,’ Clarke continued, finishing off her meal. 

‘The Battlesphere was definitely my favourite bit,’ Octavia replied. 

‘Everyone’s favourite bit I’d say,’ Raven chided. 

‘Trikru is going to kick your asses so hard, you’re gonna find yourselves back on Octa,’ Octavia smirked, punching Clarke on the arm. 

‘You underestimate us, Blake. Beware,’ Clarke said seriously, trying to put on an air of mystery but she laughed as Octavia did a crude impersonation of her attempted secrecy. 

‘What do you reckon your Clan’s strength is?’ Raven asked.

‘Absolutely no clue,’ Octavia replied blatantly, looking around at her Clan. ‘I can’t place what we have in common. Do you guys know?’

Clarke and Raven looked at each other, then shook their heads.

‘It’s based off the Battles, so I hope we work it out then.’ 

‘Maybe we could ask one of the older students. I could ask Clarke’s girlfriend of course.’ Octavia said casually, looking over at where Lexa was sitting with her friends.

‘Girlfriend huh, Griffin?’ Raven said, raising one eyebrow.

‘Shut up! She’s not my girlfriend, I’ve never even spoken to her.’ Both Octavia and Raven ignored this.

‘Raven, do you reckon you can guess who it is?’ Octavia asked, and Raven came up with an answer immediately.

‘It’s that girl over there, isn’t it?’ Raven pointed. ‘You’ve practically been making heart eyes at her whenever she’s around, you should definitely look into learning about this concept called subtlety.’ Raven smirked, watching Clarke blush.

‘Stop it guys, I haven’t even met her!’ 

‘We can fix that,’ Octavia said, a glint in her eye. 

‘Don’t you dare, Blake. No, don’t you dare, don’t... dammit Blake!’ Octavia had got up and was walking over to Lexa’s table, and Raven was holding onto Clarke’s arm so she couldn’t go back to the Skaikru table. However, Octavia stopped abruptly, turned, and walked back to Raven and Clarke. 

‘Oi, what happened to getting Clarke’s wife to come over and meet her?’ Raven asked, looking at her. 

‘Um, maybe not today, Raven,’ Octavia said quietly, and quickly changed the subject. ‘What classes are you looking forward to most?’ But Clarke was distracted, staring over at Lexa. To be more specific, she was staring at Lexa’s hand, which was intertwined with another. Clarke’s face went blank, almost unfeeling, as she watched Lexa rub her thumb over the other girl’s hands, and quickly turned away. Raven quickly realised what she and Octavia had seen, and hastened to continue bringing the conversation away from Lexa. Clarke joined in, trying to seem unaffected but in reality, the image was burned into her mind. She spent the rest of that evening trying to distract herself, talking with Octavia and Raven and reading, but nothing worked. Later that night, she lay awake long past Raven’s breaths had become deep and even, unable to close her eyes without seeing Lexa’s hand in someone else’s. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING  
> comments and kudos are most welcome (pls i need that Validation)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo dudes its been a while  
> so i've lowkey stopped writing this which is super sad bc i liked the plot i had come up with, im just really busy with school and working and everything at the moment so im finding it really hard to have time to write.  
> thank you to everyone who has commented on this lil fic of mine, you guys have no idea how much it means to me  
> i have this chapter and the next one (i think) already written, but im not sure how much chapters will come out after that.   
> but thank you to everyone who has read this far, and i hope you enjoy this chapter !!

Lexa’s eyes followed the blonde first year girl out of the mess hall, noting how she seemed to be looking anywhere but this side of the room. She reached the exit and she disappeared around the corner, blonde hair flicking. 

‘Lexa, are you listening?’ Costia said beside her, looking at her strangely. 

‘Yeah yeah, you were talking about the new Biology teacher,’ Lexa replied. 

‘That was 5 minutes ago mate.’ Aden said opposite her. Aden was a first year, but Lexa had known him since he was young. They were as close as siblings, and Lexa had been ecstatic when she heard Aden would be joining her at The Ark. Even better, he was in Trikru with her. Costia rolled her eyes.

‘What’s gotten you so distracted? You are the most focused person I know,’ She said, squeezing her hand. 

‘Just zoned out, I guess.’

‘Anyway, we are now talking about someone tutoring me, because my grades are barely keeping me here,’ Costia said. ‘I need to bring them up again or Nia will float me.’ Someone in Skaikru had come up with the name ‘floated’, for when you get kicked out a few years ago, and the name had just stuck. 

‘I could try and tutor you,’ Lexa offered, but Costia shook her head.

‘You’d distract me. Plus, you go to, like, every first year’s training in the Battlesphere anyway, you have no time.’ 

‘Maybe Anya can help you then,’ Aden suggested, taking a bite out of his food. Anya was in the year above Lexa, and her best friend. Right now Anya wasn’t with them, she was up at the serving table because it was her year’s turn to cook.  

‘That’s an idea. I’ll ask her when she gets off cooking,’ Costia said. Lexa found herself zoning out for the rest of dinner, and losing track of the conversation. By the time she and Costia had gotten into bed, Costia had asked her if she was okay about 7 times, to which Lexa said she was fine, just tired. That night, her dreams were filled with a blonde girl disappearing around a corner, never being able to reach her before she was gone.   

-

Today, Clarke was on breakfast duty. She had to get up, with the rest of first year Skaikru and fifth year at 7 o’clock, and head down to the kitchens at 7:15. Clarke was used to early mornings, but Raven on the other had was yawning and kept rubbing her eyes. They mostly worked in silence, cutting up fruit and getting different kinds of cereals, putting everything on the serving table for everyone to come up when breakfast began. As Clarke worked, she began to feel nervous for her first day of classes. She had no idea what to expect, since she was always one of the smartest kids in the class during high school. 

Here, everyone was basically a genius. The coursework would be a hundred times more difficult, and the added stress of doing well enough to not get floated wouldn’t help. Clarke had picked up the term ‘floated’ from hearing older students talk, and also found out that the first lists of who would get floated would be put up in each Clan’s Arkadia in two weeks time.  _ I might only make it two weeks _ , Clarke thought, the butterflies in her stomach feeling more like the dragon her Clan symbol was. At 7:45, people started coming in and sitting at their tables. Clarke sucked in a breath when she saw Lexa walk in, hand in hand with that girl again. She looked away quickly, but not quickly enough. She had caught a flash of those mesmerizing green eyes, causing the world to be put on mute, seeing nothing but Lexa’s eyes, feeling the tingles that laced up Clarke’s arms. But she teared her gaze away, it hurt too much to keep looking. 

‘She doesn’t deserve you, Clarke. You’re too good for her anyway, I hear she’s not exactly the most popular person around here.’ Raven had come up next to her, moving her chopping board and the oranges she was cutting over next to Clarke’s. Clarke nodded numbly, trying to concentrate on what she was doing, trying to distract herself. Why she was so caught up over one girl, Clarke had no idea. It scared her that she was already so hurt by Lexa and her girlfriend, especially since she had never even talked to her. Clarke wasn’t big on dating, only having dated a few people, who she never really had felt for this quickly. It usually took her a while to warm up to someone, getting to know them first before realising she liked them. Lexa was obviously an exception to this. 

Finally, Clarke and Raven were finished with their breakfast preparations, and went to sit next to a girl named Fox at the Skaikru table. Raven and Clarke had mainly kept to themselves throughout the past two days, but they were still starting to know everybody. 

‘Don’t want to get too attached, anyone could get floated,’ Raven had joked the previous night. Clarke was fine with only having a few friends, besides she was content with Raven and Octavia anyway. 

Their first class was chemistry, and Wells had shown Clarke and Raven where their classroom, before speeding off to his own class. They were in the science section of the station, and the classroom at four rows of tables, with benches to the side to do experiments on. There were windows into the corridor, but to Clarke’s disappointment she had found that none of the classrooms had windows looking onto the Battlesphere.The class started, and the teacher called the role. He was tall, with white hair and a low voice. He didn’t speak loudly but everyone at the back could easily hear him. 

‘My name is Instructor Porlan. Today, we will discuss this year’s chemistry course. For the first few lessons, we will cover things you should all already know from high school, but I just want to be sure we are all on the same page.’ Clarke knew that she remembered everything from high school chemistry, even though she hadn’t found the subject particularly interesting. Without meaning to, she zoned out of the class, finding that her mind uncontrollably falled on Lexa every time she started to daydream. Each time this happened, she viciously jerked her mind away from the topic, forcing herself to concentrate on the class. 

The hologram board was showing something about sustainability chemistry, something she’d probably already learnt about. The hour seemed to pass by in a blur, and as Clarke walked out of the classroom she knew she would have to pay more attention than that if she didn’t want to get floated. Second, she had Biology, which she knew she was hopeless at. Lunch was at 1 o’clock, and Clarke kept her head down, trying to make sure she didn’t see Lexa and the girl she was always holding hands with. 

Astrophysics was next, and Clarke was beginning to realise how much science they did at The Ark. Last, Skaikru had a free hour. Their day only had 4 subjects, each going for an hour, with a lunch hour in the middle. After classes finished, you could choose to go down to the Battlesphere with your Clan and train for battles, but since they hadn’t actually learnt how the battles worked yet, and you had to make sure another Clan wasn’t already there, Trikru decided not to. Now, Raven and Clarke were sitting in Arkadia, reading over some biology homework they had been given that day.

‘First day here, and already a hideous amount of homework. Trust,’ Raven said, looking at the list of homework she had gotten. 

‘On the plus side, we get to learn how the Battles work tomorrow!’ Clarke said excitedly, looking at their timetable. 

‘That’s true, but I might not actually get to be  _ in _ a battle if I don’t pass this stupid test,’ Raven added. She and Clarke had already been given the date for their first test at The Ark, which was on Friday. 

‘Shut up Reyes, you’ll nail it.’ 

‘Oh right, I temporarily dropped my confident and cool facade. But, it’s back now. I’m gonna get the top score in the class on this test.’ Raven leaned back in her chair, amrs crossed.        

‘There we go, Raven’s back everybody no need to fear.’ 

-

Clarke, Raven and the rest of Skaikru were now waiting for Instructor Kane in the little room just before the Battlesphere. They were all chattering noisily, discussing what they thought the Battles would be like. Kane entered the room, and everyone quieted down, waiting for him to speak.

‘Welcome to Battle training,’ the Instructor said, looking around at them all. They were all wearing their suits, ready to get back into the Battlesphere. 

‘I see you are all ready to go. However, most of today’s training will be in the classroom. Follow me.’ He lead them through a door to the side, which Clarke hadn’t noticed before. They entered a classroom which was shaped like a tiny amphitheatre. Kane gestured towards the red chairs, and they all hurried to sit down. The chairs all had a little table, which slid out of the arm rest and twisted to sit in front of them. The Instructor waited at the front of the room for them all to settle, and then began his lesson.

‘Today, I will be teaching you how the Battles work, and be looking at past examples of them. An older student will be joining us today, she will help explain her experiences of Battles. She will also be attending a lot of your after hours training sessions, she is the best of the best. She should be arriving any minute, but I’ll begin without her.’ Clarke had no idea who this student was, and no one else seemed to either.  _ It’ll probably be someone who’s been here a couple of years _ , thought Clarke. 

‘As most of you know, Battles take place in the Battlesphere, one Clan against another. You get points depending on how well your Clan performs, and all of the Battle instructors, like myself, are judges. You get 50 points bonus if you win. At the end of the year, the Clan with the most points wins.’ The door opened, and Clarke caught her breath. In came Lexa, wearing her suit, hair tied back in those intricate braids of hers. Clarke couldn’t help but notice how the suit clung tightly to her body, showing all her dips and curves. Even through the suit, Clarke could tell her arms would be threaded with muscle, and she probably had abs too. 

‘Sorry I’m late,’ Lexa said, her voice surprisingly soft. Clarke realised this was the first time she had heard her speak. 

‘Don’t worry, I only just got started.’ Instructor Kane said to her, and she nodded and sat down near the front, so Clarke could see half of her face. ‘Everyone, this is Lexa Woods, a second year Ark student and our very best Battle player.’ He smiled at her, and then returned his attention back to the class. 

‘Where was I? Ah, thats right. Point system. The Clan with the most amount of points at the end gets a cool trophy and bragging rights. Oh, and you also get some extra gadgets for the future Battles, but each gadget can only be used once. Trikru are the current Battle winners, so they have a lot the gadgets. However, Skaikru have a couple small ones from past years. Some of the gadgets are things like net guns, flares, extra time, various things like that.’ Even though she was most excited to learn about the Battles, Clarke was barely listening to what he was saying. Her eyes kept flicking to where Lexa was sitting, with her hands in her lap, listening as Instructor Kane spoke. 

‘How could she be one of the best here, she’s only in year 2,’ Raven whispered in her ear. Clarke shrugged, 

‘She must be really really good.’

‘Damn Griffin, you sound almost dreamy.’ 

‘Shut up. Girlfriend, remember?’ 

‘Shit sorry Griffin, forgot,’ Raven whispered, sounding genuinely sorry.    

‘All good.’ Things were not all good. Lexa had just got up to speak, and Clarke felt slightly guilty that she was happy to have an excuse to look at her, but also really, really sad that Clarke knew she was taken. 

‘Battles are always different. Each time, there’s a different objective, a different way to win. Sometimes, it’ll be your whole Clan playing, sometimes it’s one at a time, sometimes you come out one by one.’ Lexa’s voice was soft, but everyone listened to her. Something about the way she surveyed them all, standing calmly but with power, made them listen to her every word. Except perhaps Clarke, who was too busy staring at her lips to really listen to what she was saying. 

‘Sometimes they video the battles, so we can go back and look at them. I’m going to show you a couple of my battles, and talk you through what the objectives were for each one.’ Suddenly, a hologram was projected in front of them, showing the Battlesphere. The lights dimmed, and Clarke, with some difficulty, averted her gaze from Lexa to the scene playing out. 

‘In this Battle, the objective is to break through the Clan’s defense within the time limit. To win, you must get one player who hasn’t been hit at all through the other team’s entrance.’ In the hologram, the Battle began. There were so many things happening at once, Clarke found she could hardly keep track. Clarke could see a blue stripe on one Clan’s suits, Skaikru, they appeared to be on the offensive side against a Clan with a green stripe down their suits, Trikru. They had just began firing those white-purple bullets of light onto the Skaikru clan relentlessly. However, Skaikru had a defense of their own. They had organised the blocks Clarke had seen in the Battlesphere to act like a shield, most of them where clustered behind it. 

‘The general principle of this Battle is that if you get hit, your gun deactivates,’ Lexa said, her green eyes watching the holograms critically. She seemed to always be calculating, predicting, as she noted where each person was. So far, only 3 of around 20 Skaikru people had been hit, but they were still harbouring behind the cluster of blocks. Then, five Skaikru members pushed off, firing as quick as they could at the Trikru players guarding their door. They were arranged in a dome around it, facing outwards. Some of them where behind, protected. Skaikru, firing rapidly, began to cut a hole in their defences, which the people behind came to fill. Within 30 seconds though, the five Skaikru players had all been hit, and where floating uselessly. Five more Skaikru players pushed off from behind the blocks, all in different directions. 

‘Skaikru are depositing their players in a continuous stream, so they are a constant threat to the defenders, not allowing them time to recover after each attack. Here, they are hoping to get all of the Trikru defence’s guns to be rendered useless, so they can simply send one of their players through unchallenged,’ Lexa explained, ‘This was taken last year, this was the last Battle of the year, played by first years. By the end of this year, you should all be at this stage.’ Lexa’s eyes moved from one person to another as they watched, as if she could tell who the ones with natural ability were, and who was going to be floated. Now, Skaikru had blasted a hole in the Trikru’s dome of defence, and were beginning to advance. There were only around 6 players left on each team. Skaikru pushed the blocks off, propelling them forwards, advancing on the scattered Trikru members. 

Clarke felt her stomach lurch as she realised who the girl at the front of their defence was. Lexa. She was firing continuously, aiming for any gaps she could see in the blocks. Two Skaikru appeared and began firing at them, but Lexa picked them both off easily, even though only their heads and shoulders were showing. With four players left, it looked like Skaikru had no chance, especially with Lexa opposing them, who seemed to be the best shot in the game. Clarke could see no way Skaikru could win this at all. She saw the last members having a quick exchange behind the blocks, trying to formulate a plan to get past. Then, they fanned out to different corners of the shield, and began rearranging the outer blocks, so that they started coming inwards, forming their own semi-circle around the remaining players. Hologram Lexa quickly saw what they were doing, and told two of her players to move around behind them, so they would be able to have a clear shot from behind. The Skaikru players were blind to what was happening in front, and didn’t know two Trikrus were circling around. Now, they were only 20 metres from the gate, 20 metres to get someone through who hadn’t been shot. 

There was a sudden calm, Lexa wasn’t firing shots, the Skaikru players were still. The only things that were moving was the semi-circle block shield, and the two Trikrus, who were almost able to shoot. They reached a clear position, and took aim. A Skaikru kid saw, and quickly pointed and began shooting, but it was too late. The two Trikru players took out almost every Skaikru. The last one created a crack in the middle of the shield, and pushed off as hard as she could, aiming for the gate and shooting at the defenders. 

She sailed closer and closer, beams of light just missing her twisting form. She managed to pick off 3 of the defence, only Lexa was left. Beams of light shot between them, firing so fast it was difficult to tell each bullet of light apart. She was 5 metres away, Lexa still in her path. And then, it was over. Lexa hit the Skaikru girl squarely in the chest, barely 3 metres from the gate, 3 metres from winning. Lexa flicked off the hologram, and the class returned their attention back to her. Some of them were sitting on the edges of their seats, invested in the Battle. Raven was one of these people. 

‘That was an example of some of the basic techniques in a Battle,’ Lexa said, projecting her voice slightly over the whispered conversations that had sprung up around the room as the Battle ended. A boy by the name of Monty, called out from one of the back seats.

‘Was that you at the end?’ Lexa looked up at him, surveying. 

‘Yes, that was me.’ The room filled with chatter again, everyone talking about what they had just been shown. 

‘Do Battles get considered like your grades do for who gets floated?’ The boy next to Monty asked. Clarke thought his name was Jasper, but she wasn’t sure.

‘Yes, they do play a part in the selection process.’ Lexa answered. Suddenly, the bell went, startling them all. They had been paying so much attention to the holograms (and for Clarke, Lexa) that they had all forgotten where they were. Quickly packing up her things, Clarke left before most people had gathered their things together. Being in the room with Lexa meant that Clarke kept having to tear her gaze away, remembering that she had a girlfriend, she was off limits. What she didn’t notice was an inner battle she was leaving behind, the inner battle Lexa was having as her green eyes followed her out the door. 

-

Three days later, Lexa felt her stomach flip as she saw the blonde she was so fascinated with as she entered the classroom yet again.  _ This needs to stop happening _ , Lexa thought, angry at herself. 

‘Today we will be beginning the battle simulations.’ Instructor Kane was standing at the front of the class.’ For now, many of you will simply be using the holograms which come up at your desks, before you move on to the bigger simulation rooms. Firstly, you will be working alone, the holograms will create bots for you to practise with. The simplest simulation is what we will be using today, it will be a simple 3 versus 3 battle. You will be on a team with two other bots, against three bots. You can’t control the bots, but they base their movements around your movements. You simply have to shoot all three enemies before they shoot you.’ He clapped his hands, and the holograms popped up in front of their eyes. ‘You move your non prominent hand to control your view and movements by tilting and turning, and your prominent hand to aim and shoot. You’ll get it once the sim begins. Lexa and I will be patrolling around the room, giving advice on tactics and strategies. Once you have completed this sim, there is another.’

Lexa saw the brunette girl who always seemed to be around Clarke whisper something into the blonde’s ear, who quickly stifled her laughter.  _ Shit _ , Lexa thought, realising how pretty Clarke was when her face lit up from laughter. The class began their sims, and Lexa began walking around, watching each student for a minute or two, offering advice if necessary, and moving on. She steered well clear of Clarke and her brunette friend, instead watching their sims from a distance. Clarke, she noted, was good at finding good vantage points and predicting where the enemy would go next, but her aim was terrible. Her shots flew wide most of the time, and she almost never hit any of the enemy, but the two bots on her team took care of them easily with Clarke’s positioning. 

By the end of the lesson, Clarke and and the brunette had gotten the furthest through the sims, and were well on their way to using the simulation rooms. Lexa shivered at the thought of being alone with Clarke in one, but quickly tamed her thoughts. She hadn’t gone over their side of the room, thankfully Kane was spending his time mostly in that direction so she had an excuse not to go over. The bell went, signalling the end of the lesson. The first years finished up, and Lexa waited until the last of them had gone before leaving the room, heading off to lunch. 

Costia was nowhere to be seen at their usual table, but this wasn’t entirely unusual. She was probably spending the hour in the library, trying to keep up with her studies. 

‘My first big assessment is due Friday,’ Aden groaned, sitting beside her. ‘One week in and we already have assessments.’

‘Get used to it kid, there’s a lot more coming,’ Lexa said, ruffling his hair. 

‘Great,’ he said unenthusiastically, beginning his food. Lexa’s eyes wandered over the mess hall, and inevitably fell on Clarke, laughing at her table with her friends. Lexa didn’t realise she was staring, too busy thinking about how she tipped her head back when she laughed and how enduring it was, until Aden nudged her with his elbow.

‘Little preoccupied I see?’ He raised his eyebrows.

‘What are you on about?’ Lexa said, trying to brush it off. 

‘Oh nothing, just the fact that every time you see that blonde over there you basically zone out completely from the world for minutes at a time. Nothing unusual.’ 

‘It’s nothing, I-’ She stopped talking abruptly, noticing Costia’s thin frame approaching their table. Usually when people joined the table, the discussions kept going and the person who sat down would just integrate themselves into the conversation, so Lexa and Aden’s sudden silence didn’t go unnoticed by Costia. 

‘What are you guys talking about.’

‘Homework.’

‘Battles,’ they both spoke at once, proving to Costia that something was up.

‘Seriously guys, tell me.’ 

‘It was nothing,’ Aden said, as Lexa suddenly became rather hungry, and was eating so she couldn’t talk.

‘Fine then. Lexa, how did your class with some of the first years go?’ 

Lexa swallowed her food quickly, and said

‘Fine, nothing unusual,’ in a slightly higher voice that she usually would’ve spoken in. Costia raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. Aden was smirking behind Costia, and winked at Lexa. She mouthed at him to shut up, and continued eating. Aden didn’t meet Costia until he arrived at The Ark earlier that week, and he wasn’t a big fan.

‘Any of them you want to befriend?’ he asked casually. Lexa glared at him and said

‘No,’ rather defiantly. If Costia hadn’t already figured out there was something going on she didn’t know about, she most  _ definitely _ knew now. Her brown eyes flicked between them both but luckily she said nothing. 

‘I wonder when the first Battle will be,’ Lexa inquired quickly, trying to change the topic. 

‘Wouldn’t mind seeing some first years get in there soon,’ Aden replied, making Lexa glare at him even more. He was going to get his ass kicked one of these days.

‘First years are boring,’ Costia cut in. ‘I want to see some of the older students Battle, they are much more action.’ Aden rolled his eyes, and said 

‘Only five star entertainment for this one.’ Costia cocked her head at him and crossed her arms. 

‘I think I’ll go back to the library now, you guys can continue that  _ top secret _ discussion you were having when I arrived.’ She stalked off, Aden grinning wickedly. 

‘Finally. Okay, so this blonde chick. What’s her name?’

‘Clarke, but I don’t see why that’s important.’ Lexa sighed. 

‘Nonsense, this is your future wife we are talking about. Have you talked to her?’

‘No of course not. I’m taken by Costia, remember? I don’t cheat on people,’ Lexa said, a bit of an edge creeping into her voice. There had been an incident the previous year with Costia and another girl. 

‘Then break up with her.’ Aden made it sound so simple.

‘I couldn’t just… end it,’ but Lexa sounded slightly unsure, like she was already planning what she’d say. 

‘If you wanted, you could.’ Aden shrugged. Lexa was silent, but Aden could tell her mind was ticking over, planning, calculating. 

‘It would be awkward seeing Costia around, especially since we have to do Battles together and whatnot. The teamwork we have perfected would crumble.’ 

‘People get floated all the time, you are so used to rearranging and adjusting to that kind of stuff, this can’t be much different.’ Aden looked at her sideways. ‘Do you love Costia?’ Lexa looked at him sharply, then exhaled a long breath.

‘I think it was more… infatuation that attracted me to her. I’m not sure, I don’t really know what love is. All I know is love is weakness.’ 

‘Way to lighten the mood,’ Aden joked, but she didn’t laugh. Her mind was buzzing with thoughts,  _ what to do, what to do, what to do _ . Lexa knew she felt a connection to this Clarke Griffin, but what if she broke up with Costia to find that she didn’t return the feelings? What if Costia hated her, and it ruined everything she had built here in Trikru? Lost in thought, Lexa didn’t realise her fork was in mid air, halfway to her mouth. Across the room, a certain blonde had looked over, seen her and chuckled slightly, just as the bell signalled the end of lunch and her view was blocked by the masses of people getting up to go to their next classes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are muuuch appreciated   
> tell me if there are any annoying typos or sentences that dont make sense bc i havent read through this at all lmao  
> thank you for reading !!!


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